03 Dec 2007 - Bali, Indonesia
– The past year has seen more weather records
smashed as extreme events take a firmer hold
of the planet, says WWF at the start of the
UN climate change conference.
The overview from the global conservation
organization, Breaking Records in 2007 – Climate
Change, shows record lows for sea ice cover
in the Arctic, some of the worst forest fires
ever seen and record floods.
“Events like these show the urgent need to
take decisive action on climate change,” says
Hans Verolme, Director of WWF’s Global Climate
Change Programme.
“Keeping warming below a 2ºC global
average is key to preventing dangerous extreme
events such as these which punctuated 2007.”
In the Indonesian capital of Jarkata, torrential
rainfall in February 2007 led to one of the
worst floods in its history. The flooding
displaced 400,000 inhabitants, caused numerous
outbreaks of disease and cost the economy
US$450 million.
“Indonesia is already suffering from the
impacts of global warming,” says Fitrian Ardiansyah
of WWF-Indonesia. “The Indonesian government
must lead the Bali summit towards a safer
future.”
Meanwhile, 2007 saw the continuation of severe
droughts in many parts of the world, such
as the Amazon, Australia, Africa and parts
of China. More often than not, it has led
to some of the worst forest fires we have
seen, devastating areas in southern and eastern
Europe and the western United States.
September 16 marked the lowest area of summer
sea ice cover in the Arctic beating the previous
record set in 2005, decreasing by an area
equivalent to Texas and California combined.
“Rich countries can show they are serious
about stopping global warming in its tracks
by committing in Bali to emissions reductions
of at least 30% by 2020,” said Dr Stephan
Singer, Head of WWF’s European Climate Change
Programme.
“Time is fast running out. We need to use
the Kyoto system to expand global carbon markets
and stimulate investments in clean technologies.”
END NOTES:
• In 1992, most countries joined the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) to fight global warming and to adapt
to the inevitable temperature increases. Fifteen
years later Indonesia will host the third
Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
(MOP3) in conjunction with the 13th session
of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
(COP13) in Bali from 3 to 14 December.
• The Bali conference will be the culmination
of a momentous 12 months in the international
climate debate. Over the past year, overwhelming
scientific evidence of global warming, set
out in the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), put the reality of human-induced global
warming beyond any reasonable doubt.
Brian Thomson, Media Relations Officer
WWF International
